1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video signals. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods, systems, and computer program products for selectively displaying a user interface atop a video signal in a televised or computerized system.
2. The Related Technology
A video display unit, such as a television or computer monitor, is an integral component of many computerized systems. By displaying a video signal on the screen of the television or computer monitor, a viewer is able to interact with the system. This interactive ability is central to interactive television systems, where the display unit is continuously employed not only to present information to the user, but also as a means by which the user may input information to the interactive system. For example, interactive television systems may present additional interactive information on the screen of the television from time to time that is specifically synchronized to the program being shown. This additional information may include information concerning the channel or program that is currently displayed, as well as one or more control options for viewer input. For instance, an interactive television system may allow the viewer to play along with a game show that is currently displayed on the television screen. Thus, the ability of an interactive television system to enhance the experience of the viewer by providing additional interactive information on the screen, such as text and graphics, is an important one.
The inclusion of additional interactive information on the television screen by the interactive television system may be hampered, however, by text, graphics, and other information that may be present as part of the original video signal displayed on the television screen. For instance, the video signal of a typical television program that is displayed by an interactive television system may include the name of a person or location shown on the screen that is usually displayed at the bottom of the screen, station and program identification watermarks that are typically displayed in the corners of the screen, and sports scores, player statistics, or other miscellaneous information that may be displayed at various locations on the screen during an athletic event. This information often provides additional satisfaction for the viewer. Thus, if any of this original video signal information is obscured by additional interactive information that is overlaid onto the screen by the interactive television system, frustration of the viewer may result.
In addition to the text-based information explained above, other features or attributes may also be present in the original video signal. These features, such as the faces of characters on a television program or important objects of interest, are also typically desired for viewing by the viewer and should not be obscured by additional interactive information overlaid by the interactive television system. Covering these and other desired objects of interest on the television screen creates confusion and frustration for the viewer.
Additionally, the placement of additional interactive information over areas of the video signal having certain attributes may also be problematic. For instance, interactive information comprising light-colored text would be poorly viewed if overlaid atop a light-colored portion of the displayed video signal. This and other problems related to visual video signal attributes can further confuse and frustrate the viewer.
Several attempts have been made to deal with the problem described above. One attempt has involved shrinking the area of the screen occupied by the video signal to a smaller relative size such that a blank area is provided about the perimeter of the video signal display. This enables the extra-perimeter area to be used for positioning additional interactive information. However, this technique suffers from several disadvantages. Text and other video signal information become less legible due to the smaller size of the display area. Also, the video image, given its smaller size, is less interesting to view. Further, the shrinking of the area occupied by the video signal can require substantial video processing, which may be impossible for certain set-top boxes associated with interactive television systems.
Another attempt at adequately providing additional interactive information has involved making the interactive information partly transparent before overlaying it atop the already-existing video signal. Theoretically, the viewer will be able to view the additional interactive information displayed atop the video signal, while still being able to see the underlying video signal. In practice, however, it has been found that the opacity of the additional interactive information must approach 70% for adequate comprehension. As may be predicted, this correspondingly reduces the quality of the underlying video signal. The result is additional interactive information that serves only to distract the viewer and obscure desirable portions of the video signal.
It is noted that the problem of supplying additional information atop a video signal having one or more features already present therein has been partly addressed through human interaction. That is, a human producer at a television broadcast station, for instance, may dynamically determine where additional screen information should be displayed so as not to cover or obscure pre-existing text or other features on the screen. In short, the producer manually places the additional information in an area of the screen that is not occupied with other desired visual information. While this technique may be successfull for some systems, such as standard television broadcasting, it is limited because of its manual nature. Thus, this technique is not useful for automatically displaying user interface information on an acceptable area of the television screen. Further, this solution does not have applicability to interactive television systems, which are more automated than standard television systems.
A need therefore exists to enable the placement of additional interactive information atop a video signal according to one or more attributes of the video signal. More particularly, a need exists to display interactive information atop a video signal without obscuring specified features, including text, faces, or other visual attributes present in the video signal.